The invention concerns a safety housing for an X-ray apparatus, comprising                a working chamber which can accommodate an X-ray apparatus;        protection elements, in particular lead-containing walls and/or lead glass panes, which are impermeable to X-rays and surround the working chamber;        at least one door for opening and closing an access to the working chamber of the safety housing,wherein the door has at least one door protection element, in particular a lead glass pane, which is impermeable to X-ray radiation, wherein the at least one door protection element can completely cover the access to the working chamber,and wherein the door can be pivoted about an axis S relative to a main frame of the safety housing.        
A safety housing of this type is used e.g. in the commercially distributed X-ray spectrometer “D5000” of Bruker AXS GmbH, Karlsruhe.
X-ray radiation is used in a plurality of ways in diagnostic and analytical methods. X-ray diffractometry e.g. is a powerful method of instrumental analysis, which obtains information about the atomic structure, in particular the crystal structure, of a sample through X-ray diffraction on the sample.
The application of X-rays is generally dangerous for human beings. Exposition to intensive X-ray radiation can directly lead to human tissue burns and tumors at that location. In the long term, even small doses of X-ray radiation can have a cancerous effect on the overall organism. For this reason, X-ray radiation is maximally shielded during application.
X-ray diffractometers and other X-ray apparatus are therefore usually operated in X-ray impermeable safety housings (protective housings). The safety housing is closed during operation, but must be accessible for manipulating the X-ray apparatus. The safety housing of an X-ray diffractometer must e.g. be opened in order to change the sample.
Folding doors are widely used for this purpose. The folding door of a protection housing is normally pivotable about a vertical axis. The folding door covers the access to the working chamber during operation of the X-ray apparatus and is opened in order to change the sample. The folding door is typically large enough in order to move a fully mounted X-ray apparatus into or out of the working chamber. Due to the size of the door, a relatively large amount of space must be kept free in front of the access to be able to open the folding door.
In scientific laboratories, it is often necessary to accommodate and operate a plurality of devices within a small space, i.e. there is a constant shortage of space. Working with different devices should be possible without mutual, in particular spatial, obstruction.
The protection housing of D5000 has a large folding door which covers the entire access to the working chamber, wherein a second smaller folding door is arranged in the large folding door. For changing the sample, it is sufficient to only open the second smaller folding door which requires only a relatively small amount of space in front of the access of the safety housing. For moving an assembled X-ray apparatus, the large folding door can be opened.
The access to the working chamber is moreover conventionally covered by a multifold door. This is the case with the X-ray spectrometer “D8” of Bruker AXS GmbH, Karlsruhe. Only part of the multifold door must be opened in order to change the sample, which also requires only a small amount of free space in front of the access.
It is the underlying object of the invention to further reduce the amount of free space that is required in front of the access to the working chamber of a safety housing of the above-mentioned kind.